1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to a device provided in a compartment of a refrigerator for rapidly lowering a temperature of an article placed therein.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There has long been a demand for rapidly cooling beverage containers and the like. Whether the need is for quickly cooling a can or bottle of soda, chilling a bottle of wine or the like, consumers have a need for a device that will quickly chill a warm beverage. Waiting for a container that is simply placed into a refrigerator to chill is quite often too time consuming. For example, lowering the temperature of a can of soda to an acceptable level can take many hours. Placing the can in a freezer to speed the process can lead to bursting of the container. That is, if left unchecked, the contents can freeze and expand, resulting in bursting of the can. Towards that end, manufacturers have developed several devices that rapidly lower a temperature of an article, particularly a beverage container. The devices can range from simple holders that are immersed or positioned in a container of ice, to devices that rotate a container while simultaneously applying a cooling spray thereto.
The more simple devices are generally constituted by perforated containers fabricated from a highly conductive material, such as metal. A beverage bottle is placed into the container and the container is then placed in, for example, an ice bin. The conductive material conducts cold from the ice onto the bottle, while the perforations allow cool air to flow about and impinge on the bottle.
More advanced devices include fans that draw in air from, for example, a refrigerator compartment, and direct the air over a surface of a beverage container. This design generates air currents that run parallel to or along an outer surface of the beverage container. While effective to a degree, guiding air currents over the surface of a container in this manner does not result in the most efficient transfer of energy.
At the upper end of the scale, there exist quick chill devices that hold and rapidly chill a beverage container without the need for an external cooling source. Devices of this type typically utilize ice or a gas to alter the temperature of a container placed therein. One such device rotates the beverage container as melted ice is dripped or sprayed over the surface of the container. In addition to requiring motors to rotate the container, this type of device also requires reservoirs for holding, for example, ice or pumps for generating a spray or film, and an insulated housing.
Despite the existence of rapid chilling devices in the prior art, there still exists a need for an enhanced rapid chilling device, particularly a rapid chilling device which utilizes cooling air developed in a refrigerator, to quickly chill beverage containers. More specifically, there exists a need for a rapid chilling device that both rotates and directs jets of cool air onto the container.